“When will Ministers finally match their words with actions, hold the Israeli Government to these standards, & hear the calls from aid agencies, the UN & my constituents to stop arms sales to Israel?
Sarah Owen MP
By Ben Folley
In the British Parliament on Tuesday, demands on the Government to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza intensified during a debate which followed the publication of a new UN-sponsored report on the imminent threat of famine.
Around 30 Labour MPs participated in an Urgent Question debate, questioning Conservative Foreign Office Minister Andrew Mitchell, with widening adoption of the Labour left’s now longstanding call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
MP after MP from the Labour benches cited the UN Secretary General’s comments the day before, when he said, “Palestinians in Gaza are enduring horrifying levels of hunger and suffering. This is the highest number of people facing catastrophic hunger ever recorded by the integrated food security classification system, anywhere, any time. This is an entirely man-made disaster and the report makes clear that it can be halted. Today’s report is Exhibit A for the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.”
Many also cited media interviews by the World Food Programme’s Palestine country director Matt Hollingsworth, who had also said, “We’re seeing the highest hunger level of anywhere else in the world in terms of total numbers. It’s all manmade. It’s shocking how bad things have gotten so quickly, because WFP and other humanitarians can’t reach starving people. A ceasefire is an absolute requirement.”
The debate arose following the publication of the UN-sponsored Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report, which projected the whole 2.2 million population of Gaza will face Phase 3 and above acute food crisis in the coming days, whilst 1.1 million of them would be in Phase 5 catastrophic food hunger in the same period. The conclusion was that famine is imminent in the northern governorates and projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May 2024
The repeat demand was for Israel to abide by the International Court of Justice ruling on facilitating provision of aid and calling for an immediate ceasefire to allow the provision of sufficient levels of aid into Gaza by road. MPs warned the provision of air-dropped aid was poorly targeted and had proved insufficient, and that it has been Israel preventing trucks entering Gaza. Others highlighted the need for the UK to restore funding to the largest and best-established aid organisation – the UN Relief and Works Agency.
Meanwhile, other MPs highlighted that British military manufacturing was supporting the Israeli military assault and that international law bound the British government and parliamentarians to act to enforce the ICJ ruling.
On the abuse of international law, Andy McDonald said, “To any reasonable and informed observer, the conduct of the war in Gaza by Israel contravenes basic international humanitarian law, in failing to distinguish between armed combatants and civilians, in using force beyond what is militarily necessary, and in offences against the prohibition of inflicting unnecessary injury, and it is wholly disproportionate.”
In addition, he asked, “what legal advice has he received about the complicity of and dangers to our country in failing to take sufficient action under the relevant treaties to which this country is a signatory, to deter such gross breaches of international humanitarian law?”
On the threat of famine, and using stark language, Beth Winter said, “it is clear that Israel is engineering a famine for more than two million civilians … the Minister must now indicate what action the Government will take to escalate pressure to stop Israel’s military assault, to demand a ceasefire and to ensure that emergency assistance is provided through UNWRA to those being starved to death.”
Imran Hussain, said, “The Israeli Government continue to flout international law by using starvation as a weapon of war,” and that, “As a result, more than 1 million Palestinians in Gaza are left starving and on the brink of famine.”
Zarah Sultana, said, “Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war to collectively punish the Palestinian people. Israel blocks food from entering Gaza while bombing the people trapped inside. Will the Minister finally admit that officials have warned him that Israel is breaking international humanitarian law.”
Former frontbench MP Afzal Khan highlighted that UNRWA remained the most effective force to deliver aid on the ground, and therefore asked, “In light of the catastrophic situation in Gaza, will the Minister commit to restarting and increasing this funding to UNRWA as a matter of urgency?”
With regards to arms sales, Richard Burgon challenged the minister to, “set out conclusively that no parts supplied by the UK were used to bomb a compound housing medical staff from a UK charity.”
Repeating this call, Sam Tarry, argued, “Earlier this month, a Dutch court ordered the country’s Government to block all exports of F-35 parts to Israel after concerns that they were being used, in violation of international law … will the Minister commit today to suspending the supply of F-35 components, and will he also confirm whether RAF bases are being used as a launch pad for bombing in Gaza, or indeed, in any military operations supportive of the IDF and the Israeli military forces?”
They were echoed by Luton MP Sarah Owen, who asked, “When will Ministers finally match their words with actions, hold the Israeli Government to these standards, and hear the calls from aid agencies, the UN and my constituents to stop arms sales to Israel and to stop the onslaught”
It is evident that as Israel’s illegal war has continued and protests have continued to generate significant coverage and generate political pressure, the position of Labour MPs has gravitated towards the language of the Palestine solidarity movement – demonstrating the effectiveness of protest action.
Nonetheless, whilst the political position of Labour’s leadership has shifted over several months, it has only done so in consultation with the US, as Starmer has reportedly addressed at the Parliamentary Labour Party – at a point where the US has offered some more limited rhetorical criticism of some of Israel’s actions, as domestic electoral concerns have impacted the Biden presidency’s position.
However, the change in tone has not been met by meaningful action in the US, or the advocacy of stronger approach by the Labour leadership. The US continues to veto ceasefire motions at the UN and Labour has failed to criticise that approach. The US continues to supply arms to Israel, yet Labour’s language on ceasefire has yet to back an end to arms sales from the UK. Both states have sanctioned West Bank settlers in recent months, yet there is no move to sanction Israeli political leaders.
With the Starmer leadership still refusing to back the demands of the movement for a ceasefire now, an end to the Genocide and justice for the Palestinians, our movement must continue to grow in the months ahead.
- Join the Day of Action for Palestine on March 23 and the national demonstration on March 30.
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